Adult Use Regulations


To check on the current status of Cannabis Adult-Use Licenses, check: https://cannabis.ny.gov/licensing


Regulation over the Adult-Use Cannabis Industry

MRTA will create a regulatory framework to protect consumer health and safety, implementing:

(1) quality assurance regulations, governing the manufacturing, packaging, labeling, advertising, and testing of cannabis products.

(2) Public health and education campaign, to monitor and track the impact of adult-use cannabis legalization on public health and safety indicators and to implement regulations that protect vulnerable populations and prohibit the marketing and advertising of cannabis to youth.


Regulation of Product Form, Safety, and Administration Method: OCM will regulate the concentration, serving size, types, and forms of cannabis products that may be manufactured or processed. Future regulations by OCM will impact ingredients for cultivation, processing, and manufacturing for all cannabis products.


Packaging and Labeling Standards: Regulations will also standardize the labeling of cannabis products. All cannabis products will contain warning labels notifying consumers of potential harms and the products’ expected effects. Labels will be required to include recommended serving sizes, the active cannabis concentration per serving (including the total THC), and the number of servings per container. All packaging must be child resistant and packages, labels, shapes, and products are prohibited from being made to be attractive to youth.


Advertising and Marketing Regulations: OCM has broad discretion to limit and regulate cannabis advertising and marketing. The MRTA authorizes the OCM to issue regulations prohibiting advertising that is:

• False, deceptive, or misleading

• Promoting overconsumption or depicting consumption

• Appeals to children or minors

• Within or readily observed within 500 feet of the perimeter of a school grounds, playground, child day care providers, public park, or library

• In public transit vehicles or stations

• In the form of an unsolicited internet pop-up

• On publicly owned or operated property

• Makes medical claims or promotes adult-use cannabis for a medical or wellness purposes

• Promotes or implements discounts, coupons, or other means of selling adult-use cannabis products below market value or whose discount would subvert local and state tax collections

• In the form of a billboard

Laboratory Testing of Cannabis Products: All cannabis products will require third-party laboratory testing before being sold to consumers in NYS; OCM will prescribe regulations governing what cannabis product testing is required (e.g. pesticides and mold) and the standards used for testing, and will permit third-party analytical laboratories to conduct cannabis testing and may require licensees to use a particular laboratory.


Public Education Campaign: The MRTA mandates the OCM, in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH), Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) and Office of Mental Health (OMH), develop and implement a robust public health and education campaign to:

• Implement and evaluate evidence-based prevention and education programs intended to discourage cannabis use among youth

• Regulate characteristics of legal cannabis products that may appeal to children and youth (e.g., flavors, shapes, forms, names)

• Restrict advertising and promotion of commercial cannabis products in the broader community, particularly in venues and locations frequented by youth

• Safeguard pregnant and breastfeeding women through education about the potential harms related to cannabis use

• Provide general education to the public about the Cannabis Law

• Work with neighboring states and associations to coordinate actions and policies to protect regional health and safety

Public Health Surveillance and Monitoring: OCM analyze the impact of cannabis use on public health and safety through a surveillance monitoring program (leveraging existing monitoring systems within NYS government) to measure indicators, such as: (i) frequency of use, (ii) quantity used, (iii) youth use, (iv) method of administration, (v) product form, (vi) traffic safety impacts, (vii) substitution effects, (viii) emergency room visits and other health and safety metrics. OCM will publish these findings in an annual report mandated by the MRTA.

March 9, 2022: Adult Use Conditional Retail Dispensary Regulations Proposed by NYS OCM: 9 NYCRR Part 116